Chapter 24: Discussion (2)

The young man shook his head confidently, “We’ve studied it intensely at Arcadia Academy, I have no doubts.”

Vaughn sat back in his chair, placing one leg over the other, “If he suffered mana corruption, then how is he still alive?”

“That… I don’t know.” Charles admitted.

“By all accounts, he should have been torn apart by the chaotic mana inside his body.” He added.

Brian rested his chin upon his fist, deep in thought. “What’s even more confusing is that he performed the ascension ritual while suffering from mana corruption…”

His words were only met with silence.

“Then he should be dead, either by the corruption, or from soul dissolution. The soul can not possibly be nourished by chaotic mana and dive into the Arcana at the same time. To suggest otherwise is absurd.” Vaughn stated.

No one seemed to disagree with his statement.

“Yet here we are,” Brian said, his incredulity evident.

The three men sat in silence for a while, as if contemplating possible reasons for the phenomena.

“If we disregard the means, the fact that Michael now holds possesses a red ring and is officially a Crimson mage at only ten years old is unbelievable enough.” Vaughn stated, tapping the arm of his chair.

Charles nodded, “Even in Arcadia, there are only a handful of students who were born with red rings. But even they did not complete an ascension ritual until the age of fifteen.”

Those who were born with red rings were sought after by all academies. Given that they were the only one’s able to ascend to violet and become Arcanist mages, it was no logical that every academy wanted to secure one.

“Michael is an anomaly. I’m afraid that we might not ever understand what happened tonight.” Brian stated, “So, let’s keep this to ourselves, alright?”

His eyes scanned the two men, who then nodded in affirmation.

“As for what to do moving forward… Charles, will you continue to tutor Michael? Of course you’re within your right to refuse.” Brian asked.

A brief moment of contemplation followed before Charles nodded, “I will tutor Michael… I won’t let the same thing happen again, Lord Winterborne.”

Brian let out a sigh of relief, giving a small smile to the youth, “That’s reassuring, thank you Charles.”

He then turned to Vaughn, the head of estate. “Vaughn, I need you to monitor Michael and report any odd behavior, no matter how small. While he might look okay now, there could have been something we missed.”

“Missed? Do you mean…” Vaughn’s expression darkened.

“Mmm. Soul fragmentation.”

Both Charles and Vaughn went quiet as the lord’s words hung in the air.

There were two major dangers when it came to performing the ascension ritual. The dreaded soul dissolution and the more dormant soul fragmentation.

Soul fragmentation occurrs when the soul returns from the Arcana incomplete. Generally, this is most likely to happen when a mage tries to exceed their soul’s potential, sending it further into the Arcana than it can withstand.

As the name implied, the soul would begin to fracture under the pressure, losing pieces of itself. While not fully dissolving, the fragmented soul that returned would be incomplete, leading to various symptoms.

Memory loss, insomnia, bouts of madness. In most cases, the symptoms would be mild, but it could compound, slowly leading to something even bigger.

“Understood my lord,” Vaughn replied, his eyes showing resolve. “Then shall I place Michael somewhere he won’t meet the young miss?”

“No need,” Brian said, shaking his head. “He’ll be attending tutoring lessons with Melody anyway.”

Vaughn sat up straight, leaning forward slightly, “Do you think that’s the wisest decision, my lord? What happens if it triggers another mana corruption episode?”

“Did we not conclude that it was Melody’s insults directed towards Michael’s parents that brought this on?” Brian asked, his eyebrow raised.

“Yes… But could he now hold a grudge against the young miss? Wouldn’t it be more prudent to have him leave the estate altogether?”

“Michael is a ten year old boy, Vaughn. You think I should throw him out onto the street?” he asked calmly.

However, Vaughn didn’t flinch.

“I only made the most prudent suggestion, regardless of if I think it is right or not.” The head of estate replied succinctly.

Lord Winterborne chuckled, “That’s very much like you, old friend.”

The tension in the air seemed to disperse after the matter was decided.

Brian let out a sigh, resting his head against the back of the arm chair, “I don’t know about you two, but I could certainly use a drink.”

“I will request a brandy for you on my way back to my quarters,” Vaughn stood up, fixing his suit.

“Apologies Lord Winterborne, it’s late, I should be getting to bed.” Charles added, bowing slightly.

Brian looked at the two who had quickly abandoned him and couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, shaking his head. “Alright, I’ll have a warm brandy myself for now.”

He bid his farewell to the two as they exited his study, leaving him alone. Now that no one was in the room, he noticed that the fire had died down.

With an unenthusiastic flick of his fingers, two logs of wood were thrown onto the dying fire. In the next moment they were covered in flames and began to crackle.

He stared at the fire for a while before a knock came at the door.

“Leave the brandy on the table.” He said, his gaze not leaving the fireplace.

The brandy was set on the table in front of him before he saw a milky white hand reach for his face, causing him to flinch. But as Brian raised his head, he realized that it was his wife, Mary.

“How is Melody?” he asked, unable to hide the fatigue in his voice.

“Asleep now,” Mary replied, pulling him into her embrace.

The two stayed like this for a while before Brian spoke, “She probably hates me…”

“She’ll understand one day, honey,” Mary reassured him, “We’re doing this for her own good.”

“Mmm…”

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